Tuesday - July 01, 2008

Anarchy Online - Funcom Celebrates 7 years of AO

by Woges, 21:41

MMO reaches grand old age of 7.

As a part of the celebration Funcom has put together a video where former luminaries like Gaute Godager, Ragnar Tørnquist and Morten Byom speak about their time with Anarchy Online, while current Lead Designer Colin Cragg and Game Director Craig Morrison join in to speak about the current state of the game. It’s a great trip down memory lane for everyone who has enjoyed Anarchy Online, while showing some of the tremendous evolutions the game has gone through since its inception. You can find the video here and all important information about Anarchy Online at www.anarchy-online.com

Anarchy Online - Dev Journal #4 @ Ten Ton Hammer

Every NPC has a handcrafted name that's special in some way.I like this question! First off, I want to say that I don’t use name generators and would never think of using them. Each NPC ends up being special to me and that means they must have names that are also special.

I usually name them after real people or use variations of real people’s names. For example, we often name NPCs after co-workers. Take "Corporal Morrison" after our Game Director, Craig Morrison, or "Dr. Aleksander Koumas" after one of the guys in QA. Just a few months ago I named an NPC "Heath Bridges" after the actor Heath Ledger, who sadly passed away recently.

Wednesday - January 23, 2008

Anarchy Online - Tiered Subscription Model @ Official Site

by Inauro, 20:57

Funcom has announced a new tiered subscription model for its flagship MMO, Anarchy Online. The official site has further details regarding the new model and the video showcasing the game's upcoming graphics upgrade.

Durham, USA – January 21, 2008 – Funcom announces the introduction of a tiered subscription system in Anarchy Online, and players can now choose between three subscriptions plans going from free-to-play to 5 to 14,95 USD / EUR a month. The newest subscription level means that gamers can access the areas and content in the Shadowlands expansion pack for only 5 USD / EUR a month, thereby offering one of the most profound, engaging and deep online experiences around for a low monthly cost.

The new areas which open up for the 5 USD a month subscribers are all located in the Shadowlands. This expansion pack got an incredible review score average, several awards and great critical acclaim when it launched, and is one of the most heralded MMO expansions of all time. The expansion not only gives players massive new areas to explore, it also introduces lots of new features as well as a chance to reach the maximum level in Anarchy Online.

“A lot of our free players have really wanted to explore more of Anarchy Online, without committing to a premium subscription. We therefore hope that many will take advantage of the option we are now giving them,” said Craig Morrison, Producer and Game Director on Anarchy Online. “With a great range of subscription choices, a brand new graphics engine and a constant update of fresh content we aim to deliver a great MMO experience for many years to come.”

The new subscription tier comes on top of the existing business models in Anarchy Online, and avid MMO gamers can still play the classic version of Anarchy Online entirely for free. In addition, Funcom continue to focus on premium subscribers, who get access to absolutely all which Anarchy Online has to offer for 14.95 a month.

Anarchy Online was the first of the major western MMO’s to go for a free-to-play business model in 2004, and through the years Funcom has introduced numerous progressive models. Ranging from being the first game with dynamic in-game advertisement to being a pioneer in introducing digital downloads, free-to-play models, free trials, paid virtual items and more, Funcom keeps on exploring new approaches to running a MMO. The introduction of a tiered subscription system is meant to further extend the success of Anarchy Online, while giving Funcom customers even more choices in how they want to access the game.

Anarchy Online have to date entertained more than 1.3 million gamers, and continues to attract new players in the hundreds of thousands. As Anarchy Online goes into its seventh year of operation Funcom also looks ahead, and a great new graphics engine will be launched later this year. Funcom is therefore proud to reveal the first video from the new engine, showing what the Anarchy Online players can expect in the years to come. The impressive new video can be found at www.anarchy-online.com.

Wednesday - January 16, 2008

Anarchy Online - Developer Blog #3 @ Ten Ton Hammer

by Inauro, 21:08

Nina Sund, Content Designer/Writer for Anarchy Online, has posted a new blog entry at Ten Ton Hammer which looks at becoming a game writer.

I was a gamer before writing stories was part of my job, and I don’t have any official background as a writer, so I see myself more as a game designer that writes than a writer that designs games. I wouldn’t say you need a lot of technical knowledge to be successful. Of course, you must have some computer literacy and be able to use whatever tools you use in your work, but don’t let any of that stop you if you want to write for the game industry. I know people who are great at their jobs (writing, art, designing) who aren’t wiz-kids with technical “mumbo-jumbo”.

Tuesday - January 15, 2008

Anarchy Online - Game Director's Letter @ Official Site

As I mentioned in the last letter, one of the major changes in 17.8 will revolve around the process of replacing the PVP title system, and introducing separate rankings for solo and teaming PVP as well as a true dueling system with its own ranks as well for those that prefer that style of PVP as well. There are also some Notum Wars changes afoot that we will get to later on in this letter. So with this letter I’m going to explain in more detail exactly what is coming your way in this regard.

Saturday - December 01, 2007

Anarchy Online - Producer's Letter @ Official Site

Then there are the new items and nanos, and people, as always, have already had quite a bit to say on the new items so I wanted to add a little here. When it comes to designing items we generally have to face the fact that at least as far as the feedback is required we are often in a ‘no win’ situation! The new nanos that are being introduced in 17.7 are a great example. When items are within the current budgets players have for skills on their characters then the items are seen as ‘too easy’ to equip and the game is being ‘dumbed down’, then when we make items that are intentionally at the high end of what’s possible they are ‘too hard’. In this case that difficulty is very much the intention!

Monday - November 05, 2007

Anarchy Online - Interview @ RPG Vault

Jonric: When did you start to consider adding item sales? At that time, what potential obstacles did you see, and how did you end up addressing them?

Craig Morrison: We have been discussing the idea of micro-transactions and item sales for some time. It has been a dominant trend in the eastern MMO markets for a few years now, and was always going to become a factor for western audiences as well. I think the main pitfall we observed was that the latter had an inherent distrust of anything that allowed your progress in the game to be directly affected by your ability to purchase items, and I feel that still holds true. This guided how we thought about introducing item sales, and we quickly decided that if we were to proceed, we would have to be inventive and find ways to introduce the model so the items were still attractive while not directly influencing people's actual ability to progress.

Thursday - November 01, 2007

Anarchy Online - 17.7 Update Preview @ Official Site

High Level players will be tasked with investigating how the Dust Brigade seem to have acquired ancient Xan technology. Increased activity by this militant group is concerning the leadership on both sides of the factional divide. Why are they seemingly intent on digging up ancient sites across Rubi-ka? What exactly might they be up to?

Players will be able to take part in a quest line that sees them aiding the investigation into exactly what the Dust Brigade’s plans are. Something has prompted their return to prominence, now you are needed to help discover what it is!

Tuesday - October 16, 2007

Anarchy Online - Phishing Scam @ Official Site

Funcom has issued a warning of a new phishing scam affecting players of Anarchy Online.

We've just been made aware that there's a rather sophisticated phishing site being emailed around.

We are not running any quizzes (or anything of that nature) for Paid Points or any other rewards, and you should be extremely suspicious about entering account info in any sites of that nature. The phishing sites can be extremely sophisticated, so please double and triple-check the URL and be wary of clicking any emailed links.

Saturday - October 13, 2007

Anarchy Online - Virtual Item Sales

Durham, USA – October 12, 2007 – Funcom has now launched the virtual item sales in Anarchy Online. In yet another progressive move from Funcom, the players on Rubi-Ka are now able to purchase sets of points which can be used to acquire virtual items inside the game. The first virtual items introduced with the program come packed inside a new mini-expansion. Amongst other things the new pack includes hover-bikes, hover-boards, social clothing, pets and a luxury apartment. Our focus is to ensure that the virtual items do not affect gameplay balance.

The points are available in three different packages which can be purchased for 10, 20 or 40 USD / EUR, where 100 points is the equivalent of 1 USD / EUR. A new hover-board starts as low as 300 points, but the players can also purchase an entire range. As an introductory offer the players can purchase the entire new collection of boards and bikes for 2000 points.

“This kind of system puts the choice in the hands of the players by allowing them to take as little or as much of the new content as they like,” said Craig Morrison, Game Director on Anarchy Online. “It really adds an extra dimension to what we can provide in terms of fun social items, designed to look cool while being something players don't feel forced into. That extra element of choice has allowed us to add a much broader range of items than we might if we were simply targeting it into a self contained expansion.”

Players who are paying subscribers of Anarchy Online will get a set of monthly points included in the subscription price, and longer pricing plans like 6 and 12 months gives extra points. Funcom would also like to point out that the points are given in full to each character the player has in the game. They are thus able to freely test different virtual items on different characters.

Monday - August 27, 2007

Anarchy Online - Game Director's Letter @ Official Site

by Inauro, 23:29

In addition to sporting a shiny new look, the Anarchy Online site features a letter from the Game Director concerning the recent server merge and the game's future direction.

So what are we up to now in terms of production? We are busy putting the final touches to the vehicle pack expansion and are about to start testing of the build. The issues with the live dimensions did set us back a little, at least in ters of deployment, but it hasnt stopped the artists working hard to make the new vehicles even better (artists always like to hear the words 'you have more time'!) and the bikes and boards are really looking fantastic! I am very proud of how the vehicle pack is turning out and I think that you will all enjoy crusing around Rubi-ka on these rides!

Wednesday - February 21, 2007

Anarchy Online - New Game Director

Durham, USA – February 20th, 2007 – Funcom announces that ‘Anarchy Online’, the award-winning massively multiplayer online game set in a sprawling science fiction universe, is now under new leadership. Long-time ‘Anarchy Online’ devotee and Funcom Community Manager Craig Morrison has been appointed as the game’s new Game Director, picking up the torch passed on by previous Game Director Morten Byom who will occupy a new position at Funcom.

Morrison has been following ‘Anarchy Online’ for years. Besides playing the game since before launch in 2001, Morrison has written hundreds of guides and operated one of the game’s largest fan sites. For the past few years he has been employed at Funcom as a Community Manager, working closely with the players of ‘Anarchy Online’ and the potential players of ‘Age of Conan’, and he also been extensively involved in the planning and development of ‘Anarchy Online’ as part of the game’s management team.

“It is a true joy for me to be working on ‘Anarchy Online’, and I am very eager to begin the job building on the remarkable success that the game has had for the last five years,” said Craig Morrison. “The game is still a top priority for Funcom, and we aim to provide both new and existing players with an abundance of new and exciting content in the years to come.”

While Morrison picks up the reins on ‘Anarchy Online’, previous Game Director Morten Byom takes on the role as Assistant Game Director for ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’. Byom, who is tremendously experienced with developing online games, will be leading the team that is already well into the development of the Xbox 360 version of the game. Funcom is putting a considerable amount of focus on the console title, and is aiming to provide a completely new massively multiplayer experience for console players. The PC version is scheduled for release in October 2007, while the Xbox 360 release will happen later though no specific date is set.

‘Anarchy Online’ have won numerous awards since its launch in 2001, and over a million people have logged in and taken part in the science fiction-based online universe. The game holds four expansion packs to its name; ‘Notum Wars’, ‘Shadowlands’, ‘Alien Invasion’ and ‘Lost Eden’. Players can download the game and play the entire classic version for free, and a paid subscription is only required if the player chooses to download and play the expansion packs.

Saturday - October 28, 2006

Anarchy Online - Free Play Extended

by Inauro, 00:42

Funcom has announced an extension to the Anarchy Online free-to-play offer which now includes the PvP expansion, Notum Wars.

Durham, USA - October 27, 2006 - Funcom announces an extension of the completely free and play-all-you-want offer in Anarchy Online until January 2008. The free offer was a major MMO first when originally introduced and to date almost one million players have registered a free account in ‘Anarchy Online’, making it one of the most successful western MMO games of all times.

The expanded free offer now not only extends the opportunity to play the most heralded sci-fi MMO for free, but also include the award-winning ‘Anarchy Online - Notum Wars’ giving free players the chance to take part Player versus Player combat.

“The free offer has been an amazing success and a chance to show massive amounts of players how good this game actually is,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “With a new expansion around the corner, an improved free offer, continued development and few good sci-fi MMO games around we believe‘ Anarchy Online’ can remain successful for years to come. At the same time we gain invaluable large-scale data on innovative business and distribution models, enabling us to shape the future of our other games better informed.”

The free offer content is now greatly expanded through the ‘Notum Wars’ addition. When released, ‘Notum Wars’ brought a whole new dimension to Player vs. Player MMO combat. With it, players could claim control of large areas of land, build a base with an array of towers and then fight it out with other players to achieve control, prestige and power. With numerous additional features ‘Notum Wars’ now gives all free players a new kind of experience, with more possibilities.

The new and improved offer includes the entire classic version of ‘Anarchy Online’, named “Best MMO of the Year” by PC Gamer US, and ‘Anarchy Online - Notum Wars’, “Expansion Pack of the Year” in Computer Gaming World. Those who play for free are exposed to dynamic in-game advertising, a successful revenue concept implemented by Funcom and developed by Massive Inc. If the player upgrades to additional expansion packs, a monthly subscription fee kicks in, but the player will not be exposed to the ads.

More game information and download links can be found at www.anarchy-online.com . The game is available as a peer-to-peer download through Bittorrent and seeded by Funcom to get the fastest possible download speed.

Anarchy Online - Character Transfer Beta

Monday - October 09, 2006

Anarchy Online - Patch Updates

by Inauro, 17:07

The team over at Anarchy Online has posted some more information on the upcoming 16.4 update.

The 16.4 Update is progressing nicely on the test servers and the coders are hard at work ensuring that we iron out the remaining issues with the update. We hope to be able to launch 16.4 onto the live before the end of the month, but we will announce a date once we have assesed the feedback from the test dimension.

We have also started testing on the character transfer tool. Some of the testing community are already helping us with this testing and we hope to be able to open it up for public testing at some point next week. This will enable players to copy their characters to the test live dimension for testing.

Wednesday - September 27, 2006

Anarchy Online: v16.4 Update in Development

by Dhruin, 00:10

Funcom posted details a couple of days ago of the upcoming Anarchy Online v16.4 Update, which will offer "an upgrade of the game engine, new quests for Scheol and the testing of a new character transfer system".

Saturday - August 12, 2006

Anarchy Online: Dev Blog @ 1UP

And so the summer holiday is over for this year, leaving me with some tan, some mosquito bites and all the energy needed to get going on the quest designs. =)

We're currently filling Scheol with lots of story pieces that I hope our players will appreciate. It's so much fun writing these quests, and I hope the result will be something fun to do in this area that hasn't been used to its full potential yet.

We also got to see the new locations for our upcoming expansion, Lost Eden, up and running in full in the game engine. The art and effect guys have done a wonderful job on the new battlestations and space enviornment. I'm always a little amazed just how good they get an older engine like the one we use in Anarchy Online to look.